New Memories
by OnceUponAMills
Summary: AU in which it is Regina who crosses the town line, leaving Robin behind. Originally written as a one shot, but may choose to continue if enough people enjoy it.
1. Chapter 1

A new life

"Robin, I have to do this. For Marian, for Roland, for you and your family." Regina choked out.

Robin looked up to her tear stained face.

"But I love you, I cant fall back in love with Marian when I know you're going to be there, in New York, on your own, with no memories of anyone here. I should be the one to go."

"I can get a dog…" Regina responded, chuckling ever so slightly at the thought. "I need to do this Robin, I can't stay here without Henry. This was where he grew up, where he learned to walk, talk and where he became the boy he is… was.. And as much as I don't want to forget those memories, I want to forget the other memories that haunt me every night when I go to sleep. Watching the life drain from my sweet little boy, all because of the saviour and her boyfriend. Those are the memories I need to forget, for me to able to carry on with my life. There is no way I can continue living my life in this town, without him." She was trying, and failing to hold back the tears.

Robin pulled her close.

"I'm so sorry love, I wish there was something more I could do to help you with the pain. I couldn't even begin to imagine what I would do if I lost Roland. I love you Regina, and I always will. Even when you don't remember me, I will be thinking about you every second of every day."

"I'm sorry, I wish I could stay, and be with you. But I just cant, not without Henry. I'd rather forget the good memories as well as the bad. It's not fair on Marian and Roland, you're a family and you deserve to be with each other. Anyway, we're soulmates, we'll find our way back to each other. We've done it once before when I was too scared to walk into the tavern and discover who 'the man with the lion tattoo' really was." She gave him a weak smile, it was more to try and reassure herself she was doing the right thing.

It might sound strange to some people, choosing to forget all the good memories, just so you didn't have to remember the bad ones. But for Regina, it was the only option. Either that, or put herself under a sleeping curse for the foreseeable future, and anyway, Robin would just break that.

"Its time for me to go now Robin."

She took a step back from him, taking one last look at his face, the stubble on his chin, his mesmerising blue eyes.

Opposite her, Robin was doing the same thing, although in ten minutes, he would still remember who she was, whereas she wouldn't even remember he existed. The thought of that felt like someone had ripped his heart out right in front of him. He would be in Storybrooke, thinking about her, loving her. While she would be in New York, on her own, living as normal and as though she had never been the Evil Queen.

Regina took one last look into his blue eyes, the ones she loved ever so much. And turned around to walk away. She sucked in a breath trying to hold the tears back. And took the few steps forward towards her car, which was parked on the very edge of the town line. She turned back and took one last look.

"I love you, I will always love you." She said to him. And before he could respond, she was in her car and had driven over the town line, leaving him behind.

He stood watching her, he whispered into the empty space around him. "I love you too Regina." He knew she wouldn't be able to see him, or hear him. But he needed to say it anyway. He watched as her black Mercedes drove off until it was no bigger than an ant. That was it, she had gone. Gone to start her new life in New York, with no recollection of who he was, or who anyone in this bloody town was.

A few months later and Regina had settled in to her new home in New York, she lived in a well decorated, modern apartment. Close enough to her work and anywhere else she needed to go. A week after she arrived in New York, she had bagged herself a job at a top law firm and she had thrown herself into her work, wanting to impress her new boss.

"Good morning Miss Mills" her assistant cheerily said as Regina walked through into her office.

"Morning Jessica." She responded, taking a sip of her coffee.

"You have a meeting at 11am with a new client, and then a conference called scheduled for 3pm"

"Wonderful, thank you. I'll be in my office if you need anything."

She wakes into her office, placing her coffee down on her desk before taking her coat off and hanging it up, along with her bag. She sat down at her desk, logged on to her computer and got to work. Today was mainly just a day of preparing notes for a court case she had coming up next week. It was her first solo case since she started at the firm and she was slightly nervous but also extremely prepared. That helped with her nerves, she knew the case inside and out. It was nothing major, a simple divorce turned nasty because the pair were fighting over who was allowed what possessions. The court case was just a formality that needed to happen, but nevertheless Regina was more than prepared.

Meanwhile in Storybrooke...

"Morning son." Robin said as he walked into the kitchen to find Roland sat at the table eating 'dippy egg and soldiers' as he liked to call them. He bent down and kissed Roland on the cheek.

"Daddy your beard is scratchy!" Roland exclaimed, laughing.

Robin just let out a chuckle in response. "Sorry." He said, ruffling his son's hair.

Robin poured himself a coffee and sat down at the table. He was still nursing his coffee staring into space when Marian came back in from the living room.

"Good morning." She said as she kissed his cheek. Her actions startling him.

"Ah sorry love, I was in my own little world then."

"Thinking about her aren't you?" Marian asked, her tone a mixture of anger and pity. She had been cruel enough to leave Robin and his feeling for her behind without giving it a second thought. It was fine for her because she couldn't remember him, but Marian knew Robin thought about Regina all the time.

"I just can't help but wonder what she's up to. Whether she's found someone, whether she actually got a dog."

"I don't know what to say, but I doubt that woman got a dog. She wouldn't be able to keep it alive."

"Marian!" Robin said, louder than was needed. "I know you don't like her, but there's no need to be rude. She raised Henry, alone."

"It's not that I don't like her, it's that she not only tried to kill me, but now she's ruined my marriage and my family."

Robin sighed. "How many times are we going to have this conversation? I'm sorry. I've said it a thousand times. Anyway, I need to go to work." And with that Robin got up, grabbed his coat and he was out the door.

Back in New York Regina was just finishing her 11am meeting. It had gone fairly well, with no issues or disagreements. The client was happy enough with her ideas on how to proceed.

"Thank you Mr Murphy. I will email you and arrange another meeting once I have decided exactly what I think is the best way forward." She held out her hand to shake the clients hand.

"No, thank you Miss Mills."

She showed him out of her office, grabbing her coat and bag on the way past.

"I'm taking an early lunch Jessica."

"Oh Miss Mills, you have to come here and see this! My sister's dog had puppies a couple of months ago, they're adorable!"

Regina walked over to her assistants computer.

"Oh they are adorable aren't they?"

"Hey, it might be a bit of a long shot, but you don't by any chance want a puppy do you? She's got 3 more she needs to find homes for, but she only wants them to go to people she knows. You know what some people are like, and she doesn't want them to end up in the wrong hands."

"I'm afraid I don't, not right now anyway. I will see you 1pm." Regina responded. She had a doctors appointment to get to, which is why she needed to take a longer lunch break.

"See you later." Jessica responded, still staring at the puppies on her screen.

Regina walked out of the building and round the corner to her apartment. She chose to walk to her office considering it only took around 5 minutes. Before she knew it she was back in her apartment, kicking her heels off at the door. She still had over an hour until her appointment so decided to make herself a decent lunch, instead of eating out.

Half an hour later and she had finished her lunch, which was some pasta and chicken. She was just drying up the last few dishes she had used. She looked at her watch and realised she still had 45 minutes before she needed to be at the doctors, so decided to sit down and watch half of the newest episode of 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' also known as, her guilty pleasure. She wouldn't admit to anyone that she watched this rubbish. She watched for the comedy value. They were all fault dramatic so she spends most of an episode laughing at how ridiculous the whole thing is.

She was only half watching the episode because going round in her head was the idea that maybe she should get a puppy. She's felt like someone was missing in her life ever since she found herself in New York, 3 months ago. She lived in this big apartment all on her own, and it got lonely most nights. It might be nice to have someone to share it with, even if that did happen to be a dog.

Yes that's it, she's decided she's going to get a dog.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I know I haven't updated in a while, people wanted me to continue this. I promise to try and update more often. I hope you enjoy, and reviews always appreciated :).

Her lunch break was soon over and she gathered her coat and bag and headed back to her office.

"Hello Jessica." Regina said as she strutted onto the 10th floor of the building. Her doctors appointment was a routine thing and had gone well, as she had expected it to. Regina took care of herself, making sure to get to the gym three times a week and on the other days, to go for a run.

"Afternoon Miss Mills." Her young assistant responded.

"Did I get any messages while I was out of the office?"

"Not today, you have nothing in the diary until your conference call at 3pm. You should've taken a bit longer for lunch."

"I have some paperwork to do, would you like a coffee? I'm heading into the break room to make myself one." Regina hated people who treated their assistants like they were slaves and didn't deserve to breath the same air.

"That would be nice thank you." Jessica responded.

Regina walked over to the break room to find it empty, she didn't have anything against most of her colleagues, but some of them she could do without bumping into daily. They were nice enough, but competition was a big thing a this firm, and Regina just wanted to get her job done.

She made the coffees and walked back over to Jessica's desk, placing her coffee down on the coaster. She had more pictures of the puppies on her computer screen, and although Regina usually wouldn't be too impressed with Jessica for being distracted, for some reason she just couldn't resist staring at the picture.

Jessica noticed her boss was staring. "Oh, I'm so sorry Miss Mills. It won't happen again." She went to close down the photo.

"Have you been sent any other photos? I'd love to see them"

Jessica scrolled across to show Regina some more photos of the puppies. In total there were six adorable little Labrador puppies, all of them black.

"Tell your sister I will in fact have one of the puppies. Give her my contact information and we can arrange a time to meet." Regina found herself saying before she could think.

Jessica looked at her boss, slightly in shock considering she had been pretty adamant a few hours before that she did not want a puppy. "O-okay." She stuttered.

"Thank you." Regina responded and walked into her office, coffee in hand. She sat down at her desk and took a sip of her coffee. Had she really just agreed to get a puppy. what was she letting herself in for, this was going to cause chaos. But something inside was telling her that this was a good idea, that this would help her feel less lonely in her empty apartment.

Before she knew it, she had finished her conference call and her work day was over, despite her staying an extra hour. She gathered her bag and coat and locked her office behind her. She had sent Jessica home an hour earlier, there was no point in her staying behind for an extra hour just because Regina had some extra paperwork she wanted to finish before she went home. The floor was deserted, because well, it was gone 7pm and most of the staff finished at 6pm, if not slightly before that. She got in the elevator and headed down onto the street, to walk home.

The short walk to her apartment consisted of her thinking about what she had in the cupboards that she could make for her tea. She had some leftover pasta from lunch but didn't want to eat the same meal again. She decided she'd pick up a salad on the way home, she really didn't have the energy to cook, and just wanted to eat something, get into her pyjamas and watch some television. She purposely left her laptop behind so she wouldn't be tempted to do any work tonight, she knew she needed a night off, she was drained and had no idea why.

Meanwhile, back in storybrooke Robin was having just as lonely a time, even if he did have a family. He missed Regina, his soulmate, and knowing she had no memory of him absolutely destroyed him, he was heartbroken. All he wanted to do was go round to her house on Miffin Street, and find her sat there waiting for him, a glass of wine in hand. He still remembered what she smelled like, her favourite lipstick shade was still burned onto his skin from the last time she kissed him. It had been three months since he last saw her, and he hadn't forgotten a single detail. Every other day, on his way back from work he would drive the long way home, past her house and everything inside of him, hoped and prayed he'd find her car sat outside, and a light on inside the house. That he'd walk in there, using the set of keys she had given him a year ago, and find her stood in the kitchen cooking a lasagne, or an apple turnover humming along to the radio playing in the background. He hoped the past three months had all been one horrible dream and that he would wake up to find himself lay in her bed, with Regina still fast asleep next to him. He wished there was a way he could follow her to New York, without forgetting who his son was, by god did he love Regina, but he also loved his son, and he couldn't leave Roland behind, and he couldn't take away his son's memories of his mother. As much as he loved her, he couldn't do that to Roland or to Marian, and if he did, Regina would definitely kill him when she found out.

"Robin?"

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the voice of his wife, the woman he wishes every day was Regina. He cared for Marian, he truly did, but Regina was his soul mate, they were meant to be together, the attraction he felt to Regina was something he had never experienced before in his life.

"Yes?"

"Roland was asking you a question, you completely ignored him. I know you miss... Her" Marian couldn't even bring herself to say that woman's name, "but you need to pay attention to your son, he's more important than some slut who destroyed my family."

Marian became more jealous of Regina every day, and the woman wasn't even around anymore. Robin hated the way she spoke about her.

"I'm sorry my boy, what was it you wanted?"

"Daddy, I was showing you my drawing, I did it today at school! Do you like it?!"

Robin loved how excited his son got about things, it was so pure and precious and something he would never get bored of.

"It's wonderful Roland, is that you, your mother and I?"

"No daddy silly, cant you see, it's me, you and Regina." Roland responded pointing to each of the little stick figures in turn.

Marian looked up from the paper she was reading in shock. So first that woman had stolen her husband and now her son. Robin could see the anger bubbling inside of Marian, and the last thing he wanted was his son to witness yet another argument between his parents.

"Roland, why don't you go up into your room and do some more of those wonderful drawings for your mother, I'm sure she would love one of you and her!"

Roland hurried off upstairs, excited about doing another drawing, he had some new coloured pencils he had been itching to use and Robin knew that was the way to get him out of earshot for what was about to happen.

"Marian, I know you can't stand her. Which is completely unjustified, I am the one who pursued her. She wanted to end things when Emma brought you back, she did in fact, she ended the relationship and told me to be happy with my family. I was the one who wanted to continue it, if you should be mad at anyone its me. And I would appreciate if you didn't say things like that in front of our son. Regina is not a 'slut' as you put it, she does not deserve the name calling, its childish and unnecessary." Robin had stayed calm and collected even when all he wanted to do was scream and shout.

"Robin I don't care who persued who, she ruined our marriage, after she tried to kill me. If you want to be with her, just leave. I don't care anymore. She isn't even here anymore and she's ruining the relationship I have with my son. Go and find her, be with her. I don't care, but I refuse to have a third party in my marriage, a third party who doesn't even remember who you are anymore! She's selfish Robin, she chose to forget who you were all because she hates Emma so much. How can you still love someone who cares so little for you?"

Robin could feel the anger inside of him rising. "Marian." He said sternly. "The reason she left isn't because she hates Emma, and you know that. She lost her son, the one person who helped her become the woman she is today, rather than the woman she used to be. He helped her become a hero, and she lost him. The woman who was supposed to be the saviour let her son die. Surely you would also want to forget something like that, whether it meant you'd also forget about your soulmate or not. I've had enough of this, all we keep doing is having exactly the same conversation over and over again, I don't know what you want from me anymore. If I could go and find her, but also keep the memories of Roland, I would. But unfortunately, there isn't a way. I'm going out."

Robin had decided to leave before things got worse. He walked out of the door and headed straight for his car. He knew exactly where he was heading. He was heading to Miffin street, he hadn't been in a few days, the place probably needed dusting and Regina would have mail that needed to be put to one side. Robin always made sure her house was kept in pristine condition, just in case for some reason, she ended up back there. He drove over to her house and pulled out the set of keys he had. Stepped out of his car and headed to the front door. The place was deserted, just as it had been since the day she left, four months ago. He put the key in the lock and stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. He was overwhelmed by the smell of her, a smell he so dearly loved and wished he could smell it on an actual person and not just her house. It smelled strongly of her perfume and the washing powder she used for her clothes. He turned the light on and took his shoes off by the front door, something she always scolded him for not doing. He picked up the mail off the floor, and carried it into the kitchen to put it with all the other letters that she had received while she'd been gone.

Regina had gotten back to her apartment and immediately taken her shoes off and changed into some leggings and a hoodie. She'd got out a fork from the drawer and sat down on her sofa, salad in one hand and television remote in the other. She looked through her Netflix account and decided on 'Orphan Black'. It was a show she enjoyed, but rarely had time to watch. It was something that needed her full attention so she only put it on when she was able to watch it with no distractions. She curled up on her sofa and opened her salad. It wasn't the best food to watch tv with, but it was better than nothing.

About 20 minutes into the episode she had finished her salad. The episode was an interesting one and she was enjoying it so far, it was about 7:40 so she still had a lot of time left before she planned on going to bed. Her evening routine usually consisted of her writing some notes for a court appearance, or doing some paperwork, but tonight she couldn't do any of that. And she secretly cursed herself. She was stressed, and when she was stressed she worked, it helped to calm her. She didn't know why she was stressed but there was nothing she could do to help. She'd started getting restless and as much as she was enjoying the episode, she couldn't pay attention for much longer.

She walked into her bedroom, went into her drawers and got out some clothes more suited for the gym. Once she was change into some clothes that were comfortable enough to exercise in she headed back out into her kitchen and filled her water bottle. She walked over to the front door and put on her trainers, and left her apartment, grabbing a jacket on the way out. One of the things she loved about where she lived is that she didn't have to drive much. She was within waking distance to just about everywhere she needed to go, and that included the gym. It only took about three minutes before she had arrived at the gym and was signed in. She headed straight for the treadmill. She was stressed and knew she was going to burn herself out in the gym, but maybe it would help her sleep without the aid of any medication that she really didn't want to rely on.

Back in Storybrooke, Robin had been cleaning Regina's house for a while, and had sat down to take a break. He had grabbed himself a glass of water and was currently sat on the sofa in the living room, staring at the blank tv and the pictures on the fireplace. There were pictures of the two of them that had been taken, they were smiling and laughing and both had their eyes on the other, like there was no one else there and they were in their own little realm, reserved specifically for the two of them. There were a couple of pictures of Regina and Roland. Pictures Robin adored. She loved Roland and had become a mother figure to him, before Marian was brought back. Roland loved her, he had loved spending time with Regina. The one thing missing, was photos of Henry. There weren't any. There used to be, but after he died, she had packed them all up and hidden them away, her way of trying to stop her heart breaking even more every single day. Robin couldn't imagine the pain Regina felt in loosing her son, he didn't want to imagine. He just wishes he could've been there for her and that the two of them could've found a way to be together.

He was suddenly startled from his thoughts by someone attempted to open the front door. The person clearly had a key, but was struggling to use it. He jumped up and rushed over to the front door, an excited look on his face.

"Regina?!" He exclaimed as he opened the front door.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N; Thank you for all the reviews! I had a couple of people ask how Henry died, and I promise you will find out eventually, I'm just not ready to reveal that information yet;). Also while I'm here, I'm all about that self promo. So if any of y'all wanna follow me on twitter, I'm @miiismontgomery. Hope you enjoy!

The excitement in Robin's face immediately faded when he realised the woman on the other side of the door was Emma, the whole reason Regina left Storybrooke in the first place.

Emma looked startled, "oh, I didn't realise anyone was going to be here. I thought the place had been empty since Regina left." Emma looked down, ashamed.

"Yes, well I come round every few days to check everything over and make sure the place is clean. What are you even doing here?"

"I came across some of Henry's things, that belong here. They don't belong with me. They're things Regina gave to him, and I thought they should be with the rest of his things from her." Emma indicated to the bag she was holding.

Robin just looked at her. "I'll take that off you, I can sort it out. And I think you should leave your set of keys behind as well."

"You're probably right, I don't want to imagine how angry Regina would be if she found out I'd been in her house without her being here." Emma tried to make a joke, but Robin's expression didn't change. He was angry, and rightly so.

He took the bag and the keys off Emma, said goodbye and closed the door behind her. He walked back into the living room and placed the keys and bag on the coffee table. He sat down on the sofa and sighed to himself. He unzipped the bag so he could start sorting the contents out, but stopped himself, it wasn't his place to do. He would leave the bag alone and if Regina wanted to sort it out, she could do so when she came home.

Regina was finishing up on the treadmill. She'd been running for 40 minutes straight and was starting to get sweaty. She decided she was done with cardio for today, and would move onto the rowing machine. 15 minutes and about 3,000 metres later, and she was finished. She knew she'd ache tomorrow but it was worth it, especially if it would help her sleep properly tonight. She finished up, collecting her things from her locker, and began the short walk home. It was almost 9pm now and with it being mid November it was cold out, she was thankful she'd picked up a jacket on her way out.

She got into her apartment, locked the front door behind her. Walked into her en suite and turned the bath on. She didn't often get to enjoy a nice relaxing bath, and tonight it was what her aching muscles needed. She put in some of apple-scented bubble bath, added a few candles and let the bath slowly fill up, at the same time filling the room with steam. She was seriously looking forward to just relaxing.

She walked into the kitchen and got herself a bottle of red wine from the cupboard, along with a glass. There was no one around to judge her for drinking alone, so that was exactly what she was going to do. She made her way back into the bathroom, making sure to get the fluffiest towels she owned on the way, ready for when she got out. She was in need of a pamper night and that was exactly what she was going to have. Before long, the bath was full and ready for Regina to submerge herself into. She undressed and climbed in slowly, allowing her body to ajust to the piping hot bath. She sank down and grabbed the remote off the side, turning her speakers on. As much as Regina enjoyed watching TV, she preferred listening to music. To be able to just sit there, and let herself focus on nothing but the lyrics of whatever she was listening to.

An hour had passed and Regina was finished in the bath, she had well and truly relaxed. She climbed out and wrapped herself up in the towel.

Before long she was in some fresh pyjamas and ready to crawl into bed and sleep off the long day she'd had.

Robin had spent a fair few hours at Regina's house, cleaning and sorting through some things for her. The optimist inside him hoped she wouldn't return one day on her own, and know exactly who he was. That she'd see him and he'd be able to hug her so hard he'd never let her go again. Deep down, he knew he'd never see her again unless he went looking for her, but even then, she wouldn't remember who he was. She wouldn't remember the time they'd spent together, the laughs they'd shared and everything else that had happened between them, the good and the bad.

He was exhausted at this point, too exhausted to go back home and continue his argument with Marian, he knew she'd be sat waiting for him return so she could continue shouting and calling Regina every name under the sun. He wasn't up to dealing with that, so for the first time since Regina had left, he was going to spend the night in her house, alone. He put away the cleaning products he had used, and wandered upstairs, stopping outside Henry's bedroom on the way past. His room was exactly the same as it had been since he'd known the pair. Filled with all of his toys, his clothes, his comics, the storybook. Henry was just 13 when he died, a few months before his 14th birthday, which was growing closer by the day. Robin was glad that Regina would not have to celebrate her son's birthday without him being here. She might not remember who anyone in this town was, but she also didn't have to relive the painful memory of her son dying while all she could do was watch.

He closed Henry's bedroom door and made his way to the master bedroom. He walked in and was hit with the overpowering but delightful smell of Regina. She'd left most of the clothes behind, only taking the important things she felt she needed. The bedroom was spotless, like always. He walked over to the set of drawers and pulled out a jumper, bringing it up to his nose to breathe in her scent. Regina was usually dressed perfectly, this jumper was something barely anyone knew she owned, it only ever appeared when she was sick, or sad. It was extremely oversized and something that she'd had for years. He took as few more seconds breathing in her scent before he placed the jumper back and closed the drawer.

He couldn't sleep in here tonight, it was too painful. He grabbed a set of his pyjamas that were in a drawer she had given him a few months before she left, and left the bedroom. He walked downstairs, before getting changed and settling himself down on the sofa, it wouldn't be as comfortable as her bed, but it would be less painful that waking up and expecting to roll over to find Regina asleep next to him.

Regina had cleaned up the bathroom behind her, made sure the dishes in the kitchen were away and tidy, wiped over the worktops and checked she'd locked up the apartment. She grabbed the book she was currently reading off the coffee table in the living room and made her way back to the bedroom. She'd already taken her makeup off before the gym so did her skincare, and brushed her teeth.

She climbed into her bed and picked up her book, and continued where she'd left off earlier. She managed to read around 10 pages before she was too tired to concentrate. So she switched off her lamp

The next morning Regina woke around the usual time she did, 6:30 am. She climbed out of bed and made her way into the kitchen. She always had the same routine in the morning. She would get out of bed and drink a glass of cold, lemon infused water and then get ready for work. Sometimes she'd have some time to sit and watch the news before she had to leave, depending on whether she showered or not. This morning she didn't need to shower, considering she'd had a bath last night. So she drank her lemon water and made her way back into her bedroom.

She walked straight into her en suite and over to the sink. Brushing her teeth and washing her face, while trying her hardest to keep her hair out of her face. She walked back into her bedroom to start getting ready for the day.

Bedhead was a big problem for Regina, thanks to her short hair, which she hated. She'd got it cut around 3 weeks ago, and hated it ever since. Her new short hair meant she had to use heat on it every morning, otherwise her natural curls would make an appearance. She sat down at her dressing table and switched her straighteners on. Spraying some heat protectant into her hair before straightening it all down. Once she was finished she switched off her straighteners and brushed through her hair, giving it a slight 'ruffle' to give it some volume.

Then she moved onto her makeup. She started with a moisturiser and eye cream as always, she'd always been one to take care of her skin. She then applied a thin layer of foundation. Regina had fairly clear skin, the foundation was more to counteract any redness she had. Then went one some brightening concealer and some powder. Then she applied a small amount of bronzer and blush, to give herself some colour. Before coating her lashes in some mascara. And finally, she applied her signature dark red lipstick. She carefully applied it. Before getting up and walking over to her wardrobe to pick out an outfit. Today she opted for a knee length red dress, with a small slit in the chest. It didn't reveal anything in the chest area, but was tight fitting and she liked the way she looked wearing it. Finally she walked over to her shoe rack, before carefully selecting her favourite shoes, her black Louboutins. She put them and walked over to the full length mirror. Just to make sure she looked good. She smoothed down her dress and ruffled her hair once more.

Regina was ready and still had 30 minutes before she needed to leave for work. She didn't need to start until 8am and she'd been fairly quick in getting ready today. Today allowed herself some time to sit and relax before the busy day she had ahead of her. Her doctors appointment the day before had meant she'd had to rearrange a meeting, and the only time she could do it today, was over lunch. The longer lunch break yesterday resulted in her not having one today, not that she was bothered. Coming home to an empty apartment to eat lunch on your own wasn't exactly her idea of fun.

8am arrived and Regina was already sat at the desk in her office, replying to emails she'd received overnight. One of the downfalls to working with international clients. While they were asleep, she was awake, and vice versa. She loved the clients she had that were UK based, she was partically looking forward to when the time came that she would need to travel over there, using it as an excuse to visit London, which happened to be one of her favourite cities.

As Regina was getting on with her day, back in Storybrooke Robin was just starting to wake. He'd found himself in some fairly uncomfortable positions during the night, so his sleep had been very interrupted. He awoke with heavy lids and an aching heart. He knew waking up in her house without her would be hard, he didn't realise just how hard. He missed her every second of every day. And he needed to go and find her and bring her back. He sat up and gathered yesterday clothes together into a pile. He wandered upstairs, back into her bedroom and headed straight for the drawer filled with his things. He pulled out a navy plaid shirt and some black jeans, grabbing a grey tshirt to go under the shirt. After getting changed in the bathroom and cleaning up after himself. He walked back downstairs, taking a bag out of the cupboard to put yesterday's clothes in. He needed to go back home before heading to work.

He grabbed his keys off the side and locked the house behind him, before jumping in his truck and driving home. He hadn't spoken to Marian since their argument and frankly, he wasn't prepared to continue it.

He pulled up outside and shut off his engine, mentally preparing himself to face Marian. He walked into his house recalling the argument they'd had the day before, which included him telling her he'd leave to find Regina if he could. He wished there was a way he could go and find Regina, and take Roland with him, but keep both their memories in tact.

He opened the front door, and walked into the living room to find Roland sat watching tv.

"Hello my boy!"

"Daddy!" Roland shouted, running up to Robin and throwing his arms around him. Robin picked up his son and spun him round in the air.

"I missed you daddy, you were gone for a long time."

Robin chuckled. "I was only gone for one night, and I'm here now."

"I know but it felt like a realllyyyy long time." Roland responded, emphasis on the 'really'. "Are you taking me to school today?"

"Of course I am! And I'll pick you up, how does that sound?"

Robin didn't have work today, and for that he was greatful.

"Can we get ice cream after school!"

"I supposed so."

"Yay!" Well, that was one way to satisfy a 5 year old.

"Now I'm going to go and find mummy, you stay here and watch cartoons, and then we can get you to school."

Robin watched Roland resume his position on the floor in front of the tv, while he headed upstairs to find Marian. She was in their bedroom sorting through the pile of dirty clothes waiting to be washed.

"Oh you're back." She said, without even looking up to where Robin was standing in front of her.

"It's nice to see you too."

"Don't start with that Robin. The last thing you said to me was how much you wished you could go and find Regina, and then you disappeared. I thought you'd actually gone to find her. You didn't say where you were going or how long you'd be gone for, you just walked out on your family."

"I told you, if I could go and find her but keep the memories of my son, then I would. I may love her but I'm not going abandon my son. I'm not going to leave him behind while I go and find her. The least you could do is try to understand my situation. I love you, I just wish I was still IN love with you. You gave me the best thing in life, a son. And I will always love you for that. But I can't just carry on as normal when the woman I'm in love with is alone in some strange city." Robin wished Marian would understand and try to see things from his point on view. He adored her and was so thankful she gave him Roland, he wouldn't change that for the world.

Marian sighed and stood up. Looking at Robin for the first time since they started talking. He looked exhausted and hurt. Not the Robin she loved.

"Robin, I've got something to tell you..."

She looked down at her feet, almost ashamed at what she was about to reveal to him.

"A few weeks after Regina left, I was approached, by Gold. Turns out you're not the only one who wants her back, he'sapparently struggling without his partner in crime. He told me something. There's a way you can go and find Regina, while keeping your memories in tact. I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want to lose you again, but I guess I never really got you back. You should go, and find her. Take Roland with you, I'll go on holiday or something, I need some time to myself. You can both return when you've found Regina, and you'll both still remember who I am."

Robin looked shocked. Marian had gone from hating Regina, to telling Robin to go and get her back, AND take their son with him.

"Marian, I want to make sure I'm hearing this right. You're telling me to go and find Regina, and to take Roland with me?"

"Yes Robin. I guess I realised that you'll never truly be mine again. What's the point in me keeping you here when you're in love with someone else. You deserve to be happy. You and Roland have survived without me before, you'll survive again. At least this time I know I'll see you both again, and that you aren't in danger."

Robin didn't know what to say. But he knew as soon as this conversation was over he was making his way to Gold's ship immediately. He didn't care what kind of deal he had to make. He would do anything to get Regina back.


	4. Chapter 4

So... I wanted to skip ahead a bit. Its over a month after Marian told Robin to go and find Regina. Regina has had her puppy for 2 weeks and she's still getting the hang of looking after her (I hope you're ready to see Regina handle a puppy) and Robin has been in New York with Roland for just under a month, and he's not managed to find Regina yet. His and Roland's memories are fine and they've not had any issues. Robin is working as a 'handy man' so does everything from plumbing to some electrical work.

As always I own nothing other than the mistakes I've made. Thank you for reading and I'd love if you'd leave a review and let me know what you're thinking about this so far...

* * *

It was 7:30am and Regina was in her pyjamas chasing her puppy around the apartment, trying to get the shoe out of her mouth.

"Molly, come back here!"

She thought she was coping fairly well with a puppy, until Molly went and did something like this. Molly seemed to have a thing for shoes, just like her mother eh?

Luckily she only had one of Regina's trainers, and not her heels.

"Molly you little thief, give me back my shoe!"

Molly stopped running round the apartment and skulked back over to Regina. Stopping at her feet, letting the trainer drop to the floor.

Regina quickly grabbed the shoe before Molly could torment her with it again. She had to remember to put her shoes away as soon as she took them off. This had happened more often than she cared to admit.

"Good girl. Now. You need to stop it with the shoes. I like shoes as well, so I can't have you eating them all the time!" She chuckled, stroking molly's ears. She absolutely loved the attention and rolled straight onto her back, paws in the air. Waiting for Regina to tickle her stomach.

"Okay but I have 2 minutes!" Regina laughed. She sat down cross legged on the floor and scratched Molly's stomach.

30 seconds later she'd decided she'd had enough and jumped up onto Regina's lap.

"Not right now puppy, mommys gotta get ready to go to work." Regina looked down at Molly, who was now lay, curled up in her lap. She carefully moved the dog off her and stood up, to finish getting ready for work. She had 15 minutes before she needed to leave, but luckily she only had to get dressed, she'd already showered and done her hair and makeup.

She walked into her bedroom, Molly right behind her every step of the way. She opened her wardrobe and looked through her clothes.

Today she decided to go for a light grey dress, with a matching blazer, and she mixed it up with some burgundy heels, which matched her lipstick perfectly.

She walked back into the kitchen and gathered some paperwork from the table, Molly still following her. She barely ever left Regina's side. Regina made sure to close all the doors in the apartment so Molly only had access to the kitchen and living room, stopping her from destroying anymore of Regina's shoes and other belongings.

She made sure Molly's food and water bowls were full and drank the last mouthful or two of her coffee.

"Right, I'll be back at lunch time to take you out for a walk, but behave." She said playfully, stroking the top of Molly's head.

* * *

Across the other side of town Robin and Roland were sat at their dining table eating some toast and discussing their plans for the day. Considering Roland was too young to be at school and hadn't been enrolled into nursery in the city yet, Robin had struggled at first what to do with his son while he was at work, but he soon realised that most of the people in this city led busy lives and didn't care if Robin took his son along, as long as he got the job done.

In fact Robin quite liked taking him, he provided some entertainment for when Robin would be alone in a silent house, and proved himself to be fairly useful, even if he only passed him the tools he needed. Most of their conversations while working consisted of Roland talking about how happy he would be when they found 'Gina, and how he was looking forward to getting a 'Gina hug.

"Daddy, are we going to work today or are we going to try and find 'Gina?" Roland asked, pausing, before taking a drink of his milk.

"Well we don't have any jobs lined up for today my boy, so how's about we have some fun, maybe look for Regina for a little while but we could go to the park and get some ice cream? How does that sound?"

"That sounds like a really good idea, can I take my football?"

Thank god Roland called it a football and not a soccer ball, showing his British roots.

"A brilliant idea, I can teach you how to play a proper game of football if you'd like?" Robin had finished his toast so he got up from the table and walked over to the sink with his plate, putting it on top of the pile of dishes from last night. Roland had finished too, he copied Robin, although he couldn't quite reach the counter so had a little helping hand.

"Why don't we sit down and watch some TV for a bit, and then we can go and get dressed and have our day at the park?"

Roland nodded and went and sat on the sofa, Robin joining him.

* * *

Regina had been in work three and a half hours, and she was already tired. The past couple of weeks had been fairly stressful. Alongside having a new addition to her household, she had just taken on a new, high profile case that was proving to be rather difficult. She'd made a habit of actually taking a lunch break instead of just working through it and eating on the go, purely for the downtime it provided her with. It also meant she didn't have to take Molly out straight after she got home from work in the evening and could have some time relaxing first.

She was midway through some more research for the case, after some new evidence had appeared when her phone rang.

"Miss Mills, I have Mr Johnson on the line for you, he's asking if you've received the new evidence yet. Shall I put him through?" Jessica said.

Craig Johnson is the opposing council and he knows damn well she'd received it. He just phoned to laugh at her, thinking it was going to have her stumped, well he's certainly underestimated Regina Mills.

"You better had do, he won't leave you alone until you do." She responded.

"Hello Regina." She could hear him smirking through the phone.

"Craig, how lovely of you to phone," she responded, laced in sarcasm. "Now, what can I do for you on this glorious Monday morning?"

"I was just wondering if you'd received my package yet? You know, the one confirming your client is guilty."

"Cut the crap, you know I have, unfortunately." The unfortunately muttered quietly enough only heard by herself, "Although I wouldn't go that far just yet, this is all subjective evidence. Even if we took this to a jury right this second, they could still lean either way." Watch that wipe the smirk off his face.

"Well if you insist, let me know when you've changed your mind." And with that, he was gone, thankfully.

He always managed to get under her skin and she hated it, he was slimy. That was the only word she could think of to describe him, slimy. She only had an hour left to go before her lunch break and she was so ready for some time out. This morning had been stressful enough and if she was honest she'd take the rest of the afternoon off if she could. She had the worst migraine and it was only Monday. If she didn't manage to get rid of it soon, she'd end up stuck with it all week, possibly even next week as well. It was days like today she was thankful to have an hour and a half break for lunch, she put it down to her working late practically every night, she didn't get home until gone 7pm. It had been her attempt to try and cut down on the amount of work she took home with her, not that it had helped, she still did that anyway.

* * *

Robin and Roland had spent the first half of the morning watching TV and they were currently on their way to the park, Roland had his football in his hands and a look of pure excitement on his face. I mean what 4 year old wouldn't be excited considering they were on their way to the park and he knew he was going to be getting ice cream, Robin had only agreed to one scoop but he was adamant his son was going to con more out of him, he always did.

The park was a short walk from their apartment, it only took them 15 minutes, despite Roland's little steps. It was mostly empty apart from a few older couples walking their dogs and a couple of younger children with their parents, it was the middle of the day after all and most people were either at work or school.

Roland had decided he wanted to play on the park for a little while, so he rushed over to the swing and sat expectantly, waiting for Robin to catch up so he could push him. It was a very sunny day, and Robin was glad he'd smothered them both in sunscreen. He had also packed some food for them, so they could have a picnic in the park.

Robin had felt like he'd been a shit dad recently, so he tried to do things like this as often as possible, to show his son he really did love him, despite being so preoccupied with finding Regina. Roland seemed to understand, well, as much as a 4 year old could under these circumstances. Robin was thankful that Regina and his son had gotten along so well before she'd had to leave. He was glad he wasn't the only one missing her. Roland seemed to want to find her as much as he did.

Robin walked over to where his son was waiting for him and started pushing him on the swing. After around 5 minutes Roland was bored with the swing and decided to go and play on something else, the slide. Thankfully (for Robin) he didn't need help with that so Robin could sit from a nearby bench and watch him.

Overtime Roland was about to go down the side he would shout Robin, just to make sure he had his attention so he could watch him.

"Roland, come here a minute please." Robin shouted his son.

Roland ran over to his father. "Its not time to go already is it?" He asked sadly.

"Not yet, don't worry." Robin chuckled. "I just want you to have a drink of water, I don't want you to get dehydrated." He passed the bottle of water he had just taken out of the bag to his son.

Roland looked confused, "Whats, deny-d-r.."

"Dehydrated?" Robin interrupted.

"Yeah, what does that mean?"

"it's when you haven't had enough to drink and you start to feel poorly, it happens a lot more when its sunny, like today. You just have to make sure you drink plenty of water." Robin told his son.

"Oh" and with that, Roland had ran back off towards the slide, clearly adamant on making the most of their time at the park.

* * *

Regina's lunch break had arrived, and she was so thankful. All she wanted to do was lie down in a dark room and attempt to get control of this migraine before it got worse and ended up lasting a week or two. She always got them when she was particularly stressed, and phone calls like the one she had earlier of Craig Johnson didn't help in the slightest.

She logged off her computer, putting it to sleep until she returned later in the afternoon, gathered her belongings and headed for the door. She locked it behind her, walking over to her assistant's desk.

"i want you to stay for 15 more minutes and then you need to go on your lunch break." Regina hated jessica working through her lunch break, even though she did it herself, more often than was necessary. But seems Jessica wasn't that different to her, and liked to stay on top of her work, even if that mean not taking an hour for her lunch. Regina had to remind most days, to actually use the break.

"Okay."

"I mean it Jessica, you saw how bad I got with my lunch breaks, I don't want you getting into the same habit." Regina said sternly.

"I will Regina, thank you."

Regina smiled at her and headed towards the lift.

She walked out of the office complex and down the street towards her apartment. She was lucky it was fairly close to everywhere, including a park, otherwise she wouldn't have even considered getting a puppy, due to her not having a garden. She did plan on moving fairly soon anyway. As much as she loved her apartment and where is was situated, she also thought a house would be better, one with a garden for the dog.

She'd arrived home by this point and walked into the lift, pressing the button for the 2nd floor. She walked towards her apartment and unlocked the front door. As soon as she stepped into the building, Molly was at her feet, barking and jumping up her. She did this everyday, it was her way of letting Regina know she'd missed her.

It was still sunny outside and Regina needed to take Molly out before she could relax. The poor thing had been cooped up in the apartment all morning and it cant be good for her, she needed a run around. She took her blazer jacket off and picked up her sunglasses off the counter in the hallway. She grabbed some poo bags from the drawer along with Molly's lead. As soon as Molly saw her lead she got excited. She was jumping and barking and almost managed to trip Regina up. Regina thought about changing her shoes but couldn't be bothered, she didn't plan on being out for ages anyway. Just a quick 20 minutes outside for Molly, she'd take her out for longer after she finished work tonight.

Her apartment was across the street from the park, and she was thankful. Her migraine was still affecting her massively and she was glad she didn't have to drive to work because she honestly wasn't sure she'd be able to. They crossed the street and entered the big iron gates to the park. There was a huge field and in one of the corners a playwark for children. She loved taking Molly here because there was almost always children who loved to fuss over her puppy. She'd spent all of her weekends will Molly training her and teaching her different commands, so when she brought her to the park like today, she could let her off the lead without the worry of her running away. Although most of the time Molly stayed by Regina's side anyway.

* * *

Robin and Roland were sat on the grass eating there lunch. Robin had managed to find a spot of shade for them both, so they didn't have to worry about the sun for half an hour while they ate.

Roland was munching on a cheese sandwich and Robin was eating some carrot sticks. They were talking about what their plans were for the rest of the week. Robin was telling Roland what jobs he had booked and what time they could allocate to finding Regina. He hadn't planned what he would do when he found her, he just knew he needed to. He also really wanted to enrol Roland in nursery, he hated keeping his son from making friends and having a normal childhood, all because he wanted to find his soul mate, but didn't want to leave his son behind. Robin had decided he'd had enough to eat and lay down on his back, still under the tree in the shade.

"Once you've finished that sandwich you can go and play some football if you want?"

"Okay!" Roland responded excitedly. "I'm going to ask James if he wants to play with me!"

Roland had met another little boy on the park, the same age as him.

* * *

Regina and Molly were stood in the far corner of the field playing fetch with a ball Regina had smuggled into her bag before they'd left the apartment.

They'd been playing this for around 10 minutes and Regina's migraine was getting worse by the second, she didn't want to be out much longer, she desperately needed that lie down in a dark room.

Just then her phone rang.

"For crying out loud, cant I have an hour off?!" She muttered to herself. She had 2 phones, to try and separate her work life from the little home life she had, and she knew by the ringtone it was her work phone ringing. She felt around in her handbag for her phone, before pulling it out and staring at the screen. It wasn't a number she recognised or had saved in her phone, great.

"Hello, Regina Mills speaking."

Molly had come running back up to her, and she was sat at Regina's feet waiting for her to pick to ball up and throw it. Regina did just that, just to try and distract the her for 30 seconds while she got rid of the person on the other end of the phone.

* * *

Robin had been listening to Roland playing football, listening to him him shout and trying to teach James the 'proper' rules, aka the British ones, the ones Robin had drilled into his son's head.

Roland had been quiet for at least a minute at this point, which was unusual unless the boy was sleeping. So Robin sat up to see what he was doing. He could see Roland's football just dumped on the ground. About 20 metres away he could see Roland stroking a puppy. No wonder the boy was so quiet.

He looked to the left of where his son was preoccupied with stroking this puppy and saw who he assumed was the puppy's owner. A shorter woman, with short dark hair, and a dog lead in her hand. From the back he thought she looked like Regina, but he was clearly just imagining things. She looked to be on the phone or something.

Just then he saw her hang up the phone and put it back in her bag. She turned around so that she was stood looking in Robin's direction. he immediately dropped the water bottle he had picked up 30 seconds prior.

"Regina..."


End file.
